When I came to again, I found myself in my rooms in Kaltbrand Manor. Based on the sunlight streaming through the windows, it was midmorning. It appeared that Lord Christian had succeeded in bringing me and the others to the meeting point. Otherwise, I would have found myself back in my cell within Blackhold. I took a moment to take in my condition. Other than my low mana reserves and some fatigue, I felt fine.

I tried to sit up, but stopped when I felt something against my side. I peeked to find Lina half sitting on a chair next to me, half laying on my bed. She was asleep. I didn’t want to disturb her, so I moved with care as I sat up. Afterwards, I studied her sleeping face. Even in sleep, my spring queen wore a worried expression.

Something squeezed my heart when I thought about how worried she must have been after I fell for Tower Master Katarina’s trap and ended up in Blackhold; how worried everyone in my adopted family felt. I berated myself for my carelessness, and swore to never fall for such a trick again. If Tower Master Katarina had intended to kill me, I could have easily lost my life.

I shook my head to clear my mind of such thoughts and focused on Lina once more. Following an impulse, I reached over and stroked her hair. The lines of worry on her face eased. My heart swelled with an emotion too big and too complex to put into words. All I knew was that Lina was my world, and I would do anything for her.

My stroking must have woken Lina, since her eyelids fluttered before opening. Our eyes met.

“Wulfram!” She said, before sitting up and launching herself at me.

Lina pulled me into a tight embrace. It felt as if she would never let me go.

“When I heard that you had disappeared,” she whispered, “I thought I had lost you forever.”

Lina started trembling. I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her onto my lap, holding her tight.

“I’m here now.” I said in a soothing tone. “That’s all that matters.”

Lina’s trembling eased, but didn’t disappear.

“We should have never gotten you involved in our business.” She said. “If we hadn’t, this wouldn’t have happened to you.”

I pulled back, just enough to look her in the eyes, and gave her a stern look.

“Don’t say that.” I said. “I’m a Guld as well.” I shook my head. “Besides, if it hadn’t happened to me, it would have happened to someone else.”

If Lina had been the one to fall for Tower Master Katarina’s trap, I don’t know what I would have done. No, that isn’t true. I would have stormed the Tower of Magic and started a war. That’s how much she meant to me.

“Even so,” Lina said, biting her lip, “You are the heir to House Kaltbrand. If you were hurt helping House Guld, the Grand Duke and the Grand Duchess would have held us responsible.”

I opened my mouth to respond, but paused. She wasn’t wrong, per se. I loved House Guld and considered them family, but that didn’t mean my birth parents felt the same way. I grimaced when I thought back to how Mom and Lina argued with one another when they first met. If I suffered injury or died while helping House Guld, House Kaltbrand and House Guld might have ended in a feud with one another. That was the last thing I wanted.

“You have a point,” I admitted. “Still, I don’t regret my actions. I just regret falling for Tower Master Katarina’s trap.” I paused. “Oh, that reminds me. How are Emmerich and the others?”

“Emmerich and his master are both still unconscious, as far as I’m aware.” Lina said. “Emmerich’s friend, Lord Christian, told me that the both of them suffered backlash from pushing themselves too hard. However, they will make a full recovery in a few days.”

I let out a relieved sigh. Good. I felt guilty, since Emmerich and Gerolf suffered injuries while helping me escape from Blackhold. I made a mental note to visit them and thank them for their help when they woke up. Perhaps I could also pay them their weight in mana crystals as thanks for their aid. I could afford it.

“What happened after I… disappeared?” I asked. “Emmerich told me a bit, but he didn’t have time to go into the details.”

Lina’s expression darkened.

“After you disappeared, everyone went into a panic.” She said, subdued. “We captured Valerie’s bodyguards and interrogated them, but they were just mercenaries who had been hired to escort her to the auction. They didn’t know anything. In the end, Emmerich contacted his master, Gerolf. He suspected that you ended up in Blackhold, the Tower of Magic’s prison. So, we contacted your bodyguard, Sir Kane, and put together a force to rescue you. You know what happened after that.”

I nodded.

“What would have happened if I hadn’t been in Blackhold?” I asked.

Lina pulled back and looked me in the eyes.

“We would have attacked the Tower of Magic itself.” She said in a cold voice.

A chill ran down my spine when I heard that. There was a reason why we went through all the effort to avoid open conflict between House Guld and the Tower of Magic. Both were among the most powerful entities within the Reichwald Empire. If they fought, a lot of people would have lost their lives, no matter who won.

“It’s a good thing that it didn’t come to that then.” I said, giving Lina a reassuring smile.

Her expression remained unchanged.

“Wulfram,” she said, “If I asked you to never risk your life like that again, would you?”

My smile faded.

“No.” I said, shaking my head. “I would do almost anything for you, but that is one of the few things I can’t. I am a Kaltbrand. We are the ones who protect the Reichwald Empire from the demonic beast incursions. We must risk our lives. Otherwise, the demonic beasts would run rampant and cause widespread destruction.” I paused. “Even if that weren’t the case, I am a warrior. It’s part of who I am.”

Lina’s expression turned downcast. It hurt me to see it, but I couldn’t lie to her about this.

“I see.” She said. “I understand where you’re coming from, but…” She shook her head. “When you disappeared, I was beside myself with fear. It was one of the worst experiences I had ever gone through. If you had died… I don’t know what I would have done.”

I wrapped my arms around Lina and held her tight. She rested her head on my shoulder.

“I’m sorry.” I said, though the words felt inadequate.

“Just promise me that you’ll be careful.” Lina said. “I’m not asking you to put down your sword or give up who you are, but please be careful. As long as you come back to me at the end of the day, that’s all that matters.”

“I promise.” I said. “I won’t take unnecessary risks, nor will I let my carelessness get the better of me. Not again.”

If I had just been warier of Valerie, none of this would have happened. I would have dealt with her before she even had a chance to rip the warp scroll that sent me to Blackhold.

Lina and I didn’t say anything for several minutes. We just held each other, finding comfort in each other’s warmth. However, after a while, a certain part of my anatomy reacted to the fact that I had a beautiful woman on my lap. Embarrassed, I tried to adjust my position, but that just made things worse. Somehow, I managed to avoid poking Lina.

“Wulfram?” Lina pulled back and frowned at me. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” I said, my face heating up. “I was just getting into a more comfortable position.”

Lina looked chagrined at this.

“Sorry,” she said. “I must be too heavy.”

I shook my head.

The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

“No, it’s not that.”

Lina gave me a wry smile.

“You don’t need to deny it to make me feel better, Wulfram. I won’t get angry.”

“No, really. You’re fine.”

Lina snorted.

“Here, let me get off.”

She started to push herself up.

“You don’t need to do-…”

I stopped speaking and sucked in a breath when Lina brushed against my… sword. She froze in place. Neither one of us said anything for several seconds.

“Wulfram,” Lina said, her voice taking on a strange quality. “Is that what I think it is?”

I nodded, not trusting myself to speak. To my surprise, Lina settled back down on my lap. However, she made sure to maintain full contact with my body. I clenched fists in an attempt to maintain my composure.

“Oh, Wulfram,” Lina said in a husky voice, “It was a mistake to show me this expression of yours. It just makes me want to tease you further.” She chuckled. “Though, I find it flattering that I can elicit this sort of reaction from you.”

I clenched my jaw.

“Please get off.” I said in a hoarse voice. “Otherwise, I might lose control of myself.”

Instead of getting off, Lina pressed herself harder against me.

“And what if I want you to lose control of yourself?” she said in a low voice. “I thought I lost you last night. It made me realize that I don’t want to wait any longer. I want to be with you, if not now then soon.”

I placed my hands on her shoulders.

“I want to be with you too,” I said, “However, I don’t want to dishonor you.”

Lina snorted at that.

“Why does that matter?” she asked. “We’re going to get married anyway.”

I gave her a pleading look.

“I want our first time together to be on our wedding night.” I said. “Even if you don’t care about that sort of thing, I do.”

Lina studied my face for several moments, before she nodded.

“Very well.” She said, before giving me a wicked smile. “But, only if you promise to reward me for my patience.”

I stared at her in disbelief, before I chuckled.

“You are incorrigible,” I said.

Lina looked thoughtful for a moment, before she shrugged.

“Perhaps.” She said. “Still, as long as you love me, it doesn’t matter.”

“Always.”

I leaned forward to kiss her on the lips. Lina’s cheeks flushed red and covered her face with her mouth.

“Hypocrite.” She accused. “You tell me to wait until our wedding night, but then you go and do something like that.”

“Sorry.” I said, not sounding apologetic at all.

Lina threw a glare my way, before she climbed off of me and stood beside my bed.

“I’ll go and tell everyone else that you’re awake.” She said. “That should ease their worries.” She grinned at me. “Also, prepare for a scolding from Maria and Sir Kane. They’re quite cross with you.”

I flinched at that. Of course they were. After what happened last night, I didn’t blame them. Sir Kane, in particular, would be unhappy with me. It was his duty to protect me. However, I left him behind last night and ended up being kidnapped by Tower Master Katarina.

As Lina left, I climbed out of bed and prepared to face my reckoning. There wasn’t any point in delaying things. I might as well meet it head on.

----------------------------------------

Maria and Sir Kane ambushed me the moment I left my bedroom. It appeared that they had been waiting for me. The two of them proceeded to lecture me for the next half hour about my carelessness. As I predicted, Sir Kane was quite upset with me. For the entire lecture, he loomed over me with a cold expression on his face. While I was stronger than him, I couldn’t help but feel a little intimidated.

In the end, I promised to be more careful in the future. I also promised to never leave Sir Kane behind again. This mollified them somewhat, but they were still upset with me. In fact, I suspected that the only reason why they stopped lecturing me was because my stomach growled.

I headed to the dining room to eat a late breakfast, and found the rest of my adopted family waiting for me, with the exception of Emmerich. It turned out that they had all stayed at Kaltbrand Manor while waiting for me to recover. When I heard this, I made a mental note to apologize to the servants for the sudden increase in their responsibilities.

For the first ten minutes of breakfast, my adopted family fussed over me. So much so that I couldn’t even eat my food. Mika even clung to my arm and refused to let go. Even Lady Amalina, who I wasn’t that close with, expressed her concern for me.

After my adopted family stopped fussing over me, I thought that I would be able to eat my food. I was wrong. To my chagrin, they started lecturing me. However, I put up with it because I knew this was their way of expressing their worry and love for me. In the end, I mollified them the same way I mollified Maria and Sir Kane, by promising to be more careful in the future.

That was when I was finally able to eat my breakfast, though it was a bit difficult with Mika clinging to one of my arms. Still, I made do. As we ate, everyone ignored the elephant in the room and talked about inconsequential topics. However, based on their tense expressions, I knew that the Tower of Magic was on everyone’s minds. It certainly plagued mine.

Our plan to kidnap Valerie failed in a spectacular fashion, so using her as a bargaining chip wasn’t an option anymore. Not only that, but a force made up of Coldsteel Knights and Golden Rose Knights had attacked Blackhold. The Tower of Magic would retaliate. They had to, if they wanted to maintain their reputation. The conflict between House Guld and the Tower of Magic would escalate from there. It appeared that war was inevitable. Given that we tried so hard to avoid this outcome, this disheartened me. It even affected my appetite, though I forced myself to continue eating.

After a moment, I shook off my despondence and began making plans. If war between House Guld and the Tower of Magic was inevitable, then I would do everything in my power to help my adopted family. If this meant dragging House Kaltbrand into the mix, then so be it. Mom and Dad might condemn me for my actions, but as long as my adopted family survived, that was a price I was willing to pay.

All of our discussions came to a stop when Baron Kurz entered the dining room with a serious expression on his face. He carried a silver tray in his hands, atop which sat two letters.

“Lord Wulfe,” he said, “Two letters arrived from the imperial palace: one for you and one for Lord Guld. They’re both from His Imperial Majesty.”

I frowned at him.

“Let me see.” I said.

Baron Kurz gave me one of the letters. It bore the crest of House Reichwald. I opened my letter and scanned its contents. Meanwhile, Baron Kurz delivered the other letter to Father, who mirrored my actions. Tension filled the air and no one said a thing as they waited for us to finish. After I read my letter, I frowned and looked at Father. He finished reading his own letter at the same time and met my gaze. He frowned as well.

“What does it say, Wulfram?” Mika asked, breaking the silence.

“Yes, Karl,” Mother said, “What does my brother want?”

“It’s a summons,” I answered.

Father nodded and handed his letter to Mother.

“The Emperor wishes to meet with Wulfram and I,” he said, “As well as Tower Master Katarina. He wants us to come to an agreement, in order to keep the situation from escalating. To keep things fair, he offered to act as a mediator.”

Mother, still reading Father’s letter, snorted.

“Meaning he wants to take advantage of the current situation in order to reap the most benefit.” She looked up and grimaced. “And he knows that we’re not in a position to refuse his… suggestion. After all, no one wants a war between House Guld and the Tower of Magic.”

“Still, isn’t paying a small price to the Emperor better than fighting the Tower of Magic?” Lady Amalina asked.

Lina frowned.

“It depends on what price he demands.” She said. “I have a feeling that he won’t ask for mere money. It’s likely that he’ll demand that we support his preferred candidate’s bid for the throne in exchange for his help.”

“I thought that the Emperor wasn’t allowed to interfere with the imperial succession,” Mika said.

Mother shook her head.

“That’s the custom,” she said, “However, there is no law forbidding it. My brother prefers keeping to this custom, but he will break it if it means keeping the peace.”

A solemn mood fell over the table. While we could refuse the Emperor’s suggestion, no one wanted to. Not only would it mean war with the Tower of Magic, but it also meant earning the Emperor’s ire.

“I think you’re all forgetting one important detail.” Sieg said, grinning.

We all looked at him in confusion.

“The Emperor wants to maintain the peace just as much as we do.” Sieg continued. “We can use this to our advantage. Either we can mitigate the price he’ll demand of us, or…” He paused for dramatic effect. “… if we play our cards right, we can demand a price of our own.”

Everyone stared at him in disbelief for several long seconds. Father broke the silence by bursting out into laughter.

“You’re right, my son,” he said, “We were so focused on the negatives, that we forgot to look on the bright side.” He smiled at Sieg. “Good job.”

I gave them both baffled looks.

“What do you mean by that?” I asked. “Do you plan on threatening war if we don’t get our way?”

Father and Sieg glanced at one another before facing me again.

“Yes.” they said in unison.

“There is a time for caution,” Father explained further, “And there is a time to be bold. This is one of the latter.” He gestured to me. “Of course, we have an advantage here because of you, Wulfram. You’re the heir to House Kaltbrand, which is a beneficiary of the Pact and the second most powerful family in the entire empire.”

I blinked at him in surprise. He was right. I had been so disheartened by the potential war with the Tower of Magic that this slipped my mind. In fact, now that I thought about it, we were in a better position than I first realized. When Tower Master Katarina kidnapped me, she didn’t just kidnap a scion of House Guld. She kidnapped the heir to House Kaltbrand.

I wanted to slap myself across the face. Why had I been so worried? The Tower of Magic was powerful, but it couldn’t contend with both House Kaltbrand and House Guld. We had the advantage here, not the Emperor. I was ashamed that I needed Father and Sieg to point it out to me. It appeared that I still needed to learn more if I wanted to become a worthy Grand Duke.

“When is the meeting?” Lina asked.

“Tomorrow morning.” Father answered. “It appears that the Emperor wishes to finish this as soon as possible.”

“Good.” I said. “The sooner we get this over with the better.”